8 Hacks for Growing Your Podcast on Twitter

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

Twitter is a great platform to grow your podcast on. Granted, not every podcast will thrive here, but for many it’s an ideal choice. After all, Twitter is all about starting conversations – and so are podcasts!

Launched back in 2006, Twitter is getting on a bit (although, with Elon Musk’s recent purchase, perhaps it’ll face a revamp soon…). But while TikTok and Be Real might be the hype today, I wouldn’t go underestimating Twitter. This platform has many strengths, including (but not limited to):

You can include links in your tweets, driving traffic straight through to your podcast
You can post a range of content, from text posts to video clips
You can start direct conversations with celebs, experts and community members
Twitter Analytics makes it easy to see how your posts are doing (and it’s free!)
Versatile search bar – it’s much easier searching for a person, topic, or trend on Twitter versus on, say, Instagram (especially if you use Twitter’s advanced search bar)
You can get a high reach and high engagement on Twitter even if you have a low follower count

So, you like the sound of Twitter, but how do you actually use it to grow your podcast?

Here are my top 8 tips:

1. Keep it snappy

Everyone knows that Twitter has a 280-character limit. However, allegedly, you should actually be cutting your tweets down to 100 characters if you want to harness the “engagement sweet spot for a tweet”.

So, to put that into perspective, your tweets should have the same character count as this sentence.

Now, I wouldn’t get too obsessed with this – it won’t be the end of the world if you’re a bit over or a bit under 100 characters. But the point is, Twitter loves short, concise content. After all, if you want to catch a mindless scroller’s attention, you can’t be waffling. Make a point – and make it sharp.

2. Tag your guests – and let them know

One way to expand your Twitter reach is by tagging relevant people in your posts.

For example, if you’re an interview podcast, you should be tagging your guests in any content promoting their episode.

But make sure you let them know! Say to your next guest: “What’s your twitter handle? I’ll tag you in a tweet tomorrow promoting your episode, so feel free to share it. Thanks!”

This way, you’re setting up a chain reaction. You’re not hoping that they will notice the tweet you tagged them in – they already know about it. And they should be more likely to share it, which will expose your podcast to their audience.

Don’t go badgering people – if they don’t really use Twitter, or don’t want to share your content, that’s their choice. Don’t go turning relationships sour with your podcast guests over a tweet. Just, when appropriate, let them know that your podcast is active on Twitter and it would be great if they could get involved.

3. Think about link placement

Research by Hootsuite shows that tweets with links perform lower for impressions and engagement than those without. This is not ideal if you are wanting to add links to your latest podcast episode in your tweets.

There are a few reasons why this is the case. You have to remember that (a) Twitter doesn’t want people leaving Twitter – they want to keep you on the platform – and (b) Twitter users don’t necessarily want to be leaving Twitter either, as bouncing back and forth between different apps and web pages can be a pain.

So, try and keep things simple. Some things to bear in mind are:

You shouldn’t be putting more than 1 link in a tweet
There may be times when you can embed content (such as YouTube videos) which is more appealing to users than having to go elsewhere for content
If you’re going to use a link, have a strong CTA (Call To Action). This way, people won’t be able to resist clicking.
Try some tweets with links at the top, the bottom, in a thread underneath. See what generates the best results.
Offer value. If you want people to do something for you, then be prepared to provide back to your audience too. What do I mean by this? Give your followers strong, useful content (tips, advice, meaningful conversations). This way, you’ll build up trust and a better relationship with your community, and they’ll be much more likely to help you out in return (AKA listen to your podcast).

4. Threads

Now, I know in tip number 1 I told you to keep things short and concise. But sometimes it’s necessary to dig deeper into a subject.

If you have something to share with your Twitter audience which requires more info, or more of a narrative, you can write multiple tweets and connect them together as a thread.

According to research from Buffer, Twitter threads generate 63% higher impressions (on average) compared to standard tweets. Worth trying out, right?

Here’s an example of a thread Neal Stewart wrote after he guested on Auddy’s business podcast Make or Break. He used the thread to expand on his story, adding links to relevant articles, photos and YouTube videos.

You can do this too. If, for example, you have a true crime podcast, you could make a thread that documents your sources and extra info. Or, you could do a thread introducing your audience to your latest guest.

Don’t go overboard – too many threads can be overwhelming. I would stick to once a week.

5. Twitter Spaces

Twitter Spaces was launched at the end of 2020 and has gained popularity ever since. In an attempt to make their own version of Clubhouse (does anyone even use that anymore?) Spaces is an audio-only feature that allows you to chat in real-time with other Twitter users. It’s like WhatsApp voice notes meets Instagram live.

Spaces can be the perfect place to have a Q and A with your podcast fans, or to continue discussing a topic that people enjoyed on your latest episode. Potentially, you could even host a bonus podcast episode here.

When you host a chat on Twitter Spaces, all of your followers will be able to see this at the top of their feed. And if plenty of people join, this is a great way to boost your profile’s engagement rate. Non-followers can find your chat via the Twitter Spaces tab on the app, so it’s also a chance to attract new audience members.

TOP TIP – Get people to live tweet during your Twitter Space. This will grab the attention of their followers and could draw more people in.

6. Gain feedback

Use Twitter as an opportunity to gain feedback from your listeners. You could conduct a poll, or simply encourage your followers to throw you suggestions for future content, guests etc.

The Brian and Roger podcast does this very well on Twitter:

7. Connect and engage

Let’s say you’ve just started a Twitter account for your health and wellbeing podcast. You’ve spotted another account within this space that has mountains of followers, incredible engagement, and tonnes of retweets. Don’t be intimidated by them.

Don’t be afraid to engage with them – reply to their tweets, ask questions and share their content when relevant. Interact, and get your name out there.

It’s becoming quite ‘trendy’ for even the biggest of brands to have a bubbly, chatty personality behind their social media accounts (think Specsavers, Duolingo and Innocent Smoothies to name a few).

There’s no need to suddenly transform your podcast into some cheeky chappy social butterfly – make sure you’re staying true to your podcast’s tone of voice – but do remember that social media is social. And when it comes to growing your podcast, you won’t go very far on your own.

The more you (meaningfully) engage with others, the more people can find out about you and your podcast.

TOP TIP: Follow some podcast influencers/marketers on Twitter. They will often host Twitter Spaces, encourage discussion on their threads, and hold other events which are great opportunities for you to connect, learn and grow among other podcasters.

8. Reuse old content

Reposting old content can be a great way to boost episode listens of your back catalogue. If, for example, you’ve done a Christmas special episode of your podcast in the past, there’s no reason why you can’t reshare this content on Twitter every year.

Or, let’s say you have a film podcast and you did a Spider-Man special episode a few years ago. If a new Spider-Man film is coming out, this would be the ideal opportunity to re-promote this episode.

Plan ahead – put together a content calendar with holidays and occasions that are relevant to your podcast. If you’re really organised, you could also jot down some hashtags to use too. Incorporating popular hashtags can give your tweet a boost and get it in front of more people.

So, to sum up my 8 tips for Twitter:

Don’t waffle. Keep your content snappy.
Tell your guests you are tagging them in content, and politely encourage them to share your tweets
Use links wisely and make them irresistible to click
Use threads to unpack an engaging topic
Get involved in Twitter Spaces
Enter conversation and encourage feedback from your listeners
Become a proactive member of the online podcast community
Reshare content at time-sensitive opportunities

There’s plenty more we could cover, but that’s enough for now.